Sarah Stein is well known in the community of people who work with former offenders. While she is based in Las Vegas, Nevada
she can been all over the western United States and her impact is felt
all over the country. Ms. Stein has written extensively about
expungement and other forms of post-conviction relief. She recently
provided behind the scenes guidance on expungement reform in California.
JA - Thank
you for answering a few questions and sharing your insight with me and
my readers. Tell me about the research you are working on right now.
SS -
You are very welcome. It is always a pleasure to talk with you. A big
part of what I do is advocate for changes in the area of
post-conviction relief. I have never had a problem making arguments in
favor of reform. However, those arguments were always based on
common-sense or basic notions of fairness. I really wanted statistical
evidence to validate our assertions that good expungement laws reduce
crime and save taxpayers money by reducing the costs of the criminal
justice system and other social welfare programs.
JA - Let
me interrupt you there. Has anyone every questioned the validity of
the assertion that expungement laws can save taxpayer's money and reduce
crime?
SS - Nobody has ever posed the question
with skepticism that it achives those goals, but I have had plenty of
people ask about the extent of potential savings. Which is a fair
question and one that I want to be able to answer. That is why we are
starting this research project.
JA - What do you hope to do with the research?
SS - Well,
I am sure we will write about it like crazy, no matter what the outcome
is. My goal is, first and foremost, is to conduct a good study. I am
not setting out to prove a hypothesis. I want this to be as scientific
as possible and a valid as possible. If the data shows, what I suspect
it will show, I think it will help lawmakers make decisions about how
many resources to allocate towards providing expungement programs. It
would help them make good decisions if they can see the return on
investment.
JA - From what I hear, you helped behind the scenes with recent changes to California's laws that were made by SB 530.
SS - Yes,
but it was a very small role. Mat Higbee came to me a few times and
sought-out advise on lobbying for passage of the bill and for feedback
on some of the language he was drafting. But, I know that I am just one
of many that he worked with. In the end, it is Senator Wright and his
staff that really deserve the credit. I am sure Mat can tell you more
about the process and what is going to happen next. I know they are
still fighting and that there is much more that he wants to do in
California. I think expanding felony reduction is the priority right
now.
JA - Are you active in the legislative process in other states?
SS - I
haven't been for the past couple of years. Lobbying is best done
face-to-face and I haven't been able to travel much the past two years
because of my commitments in Las Vegas. However, I miss it, and it is
an exciting time with so many states expanding their expungement laws.
There are some good opportunities to make excellent public policy. Even
Florida is considering expanding it's Florida expungement law. I am enjoying see the positive changes all across the country.
JA - Thank you again Sarah. Where can people read you study when it is done?
SS - I am hoping the New York Times. But I am not holding my breath. Either way, it can be found on my site Nevada-Expungement.com
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